TENGMALM'S OWL. 73: 
The migrations of this small Owl mainly consist in its coming down from 
the mountains into the plains, in the autumn, in search of food; it appears in the 
north of Germany about the same time as the Woodcock, and although some 
individuals go further to the south, there are no instances of its having crossed to 
the African side of the Mediterranean. Lord Lilford states that he received “five 
of this species alive from Helsingfors in the summer of 1888. I did not notice 
that their habits differed from those of other Wood Owls in captivity, except that 
they were much less active and savage than some Hawk-Owls received in the 
same consignment. They were voracious feeders, and great bathers, and seemed 
to be in no way inconvenienced by bright sunlight. The chief peculiarity of 
these birds was their cry, which, as mentioned by Wheelwright, is a very musical, 
long-drawn whistle, quite unlike the note of any of the numerous Owls with 
whom I have the honour of personal acquaintance. Although these little Owls 
seem to bear captivity well, and did not exhaust themselves by struggling to 
escape, I lost them all within two years, and vainly tried to discover any cause 
for their death.” 
In shape Tengmalm’s Owl is a Tawny Owl in miniature, having a very large 
head, with complete facial disks and ruff. The plumage is very soft and full; 
the feathers are broadly oblong and rounded at their tips; wings long, broad, 
and rounded; tail of moderate length, arched, and rounded; the tarsi are short, 
and together with the toes, are profusely covered with soft, downy feathers. The 
general colour of the upper parts is greyish-brown, tinged with olivaceous; the 
feathers of the head have each a central oblong white spot; those of the hind 
neck are similarly marked with larger white spots, some of which form a semi- 
circular band; the scapulars have round white spots towards the end, and some 
of the dorsal feathers and wing-coverts have single white spots on the outer web: 
the wings are barred with white spots, as is also the tail. The lower parts are 
yellowish-white, longitudinally streaked with brown. Beak yellow, black at the 
base; claws black; irides yellow. 
There is no difference in the plumage of the two sexes; length eight and a 
half to nine inches. In some species of Owl, such as those belonging to the 
genus Asio, it has been discovered that the orifices of the ears differ on either 
side in shape and size. In Tengmalm’s Owl this asymmetry is very remarkable 
and even extends to the bones of the skull, which are unaffected in the other 
Owls. 
